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Monday, February 20, 2012

Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti

I missed my kitchen while we were away in Chicago last week. And I'm already missing my kitchen this coming week knowing I will be in New Jersey for work Monday through Thursday. I do enjoy eating out, but it can get old. Since I knew that I would be home for just a few days before hitting the road again, I was anxious to jump into the kitchen and getting cooking.

One of the recipes I made was for Secret Recipe Club (to learn about SRC pop over to their website). You may have noticed it's been awhile since you've seen a Secret Recipe Club post. That's because the group went on hiatus during the month of January to undergo a few changes. Nothing major, just some logistical fine tuning. Amanda, the founder of SRC is always looking for ways to enhance the group. If you're interested you can now follow SRC on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Though a little break was nice, I am glad we are back in business.

It was a tough decision, but in the end I decided the Parmesan and black pepper biscotti would be "the one." I wanted something Hubby would enjoy and as a bonus it would be the perfect accompaniment to a creamy mushroom soup I was also planning to make. And I was intrigued by the idea of a savory biscotti. Somehow I had never thought of biscotti being savory, but it's genius really! Erin makes this recipe on a regular basis, so I was pretty confident it would be a hit here.

I wasn't disappointed. The Parmesan and black pepper are both prominent flavors. The biscotti have a firm crunch, but crumble nicely when you bite into them (no teeth breaking here!). These savory biscuits pair well with soup (next time I'd like to make them to go alongside creamy tomato soup) or salad. You could cut them into small chunks and use them as croutons on your favorite salad. Or just eat them straight up. This is good stuff! Thanks to Erin for sharing this tasty recipe! I'm already envisioning several repeat appearances at our house.

Preheat oven to 350 degree F and line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine flour, Parmesan, baking powder, black pepper, salt and cayenne pepper in the bowl of a large food processor and pulse until mixed. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small whisk together eggs and milk. Turn food processor on and stream egg and milk mixture into he bowl through the feeder tube until a sticky dough forms. Divide dough in half and roll out each half on a lightly floured surface into a 10 inch log. Place each log on the baking sheet and pat down to slightly flatten. Brush each log with additional milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and slightly firm. Remove from oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.

Transfer each log to a cutting and board and cut 1/2 inch slices at a 45 degree angle using a serrated knife. Place slices back on the baking sheet 1/2 inch apart, cut side up. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Flip biscotti, exposing the other cut side and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper for up to a week or frozen up to a month.

Sweet biscotti has never appealed to me. I like soft, chewy cookies so I just don't do biscotti. However, I love the savory idea! You know, my sister made something she called biscotti for an appetizer that was meant to be spread with cheese, and until I understood that the word "biscotti" only means twice baked, her biscotti was confusing to me. She sliced a baguette (baked once) and topped each slice with olive oil and garic before baking/toasting them (thus baked twice). So I guess biscotti doesn't alwyas have to mean a hard sweet cookie-like treat! Very cool.

Thanks so much for the kind words about my blog! I'm so glad you found some recipes that appealed to you. Love the idea of serving these as croutons or with soup... I've only ever served them with White Wine!! :) Glad to be in Group C with you & safe travels next week.